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Polis hears concerns from Loveland residents

Town hall meeting attracts crowd to Pulliam Building to talk immigration, budget

By Cassa Niedringhaus

Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
08/09/2014 09:35:05 PM MDT

Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., hosted a town hall meeting Saturday in Loveland, and, unlike in Boulder earlier this week, he was not met by angry protesters.

The Saturday event stayed relatively calm and addressed a wide range of issues — and viewpoints — several observers said. Polis began the discussion by touching on his priorities for the current congressional session, including the southern border crisis, education and the federal budget.

"The 'glass-is-half-full' piece, I'm proud to say, is that the budget deficit is down by more than 50 percent from where it was just a couple years ago," he said, which was met by a round of applause by many of the roughly 70 in attendance. Leaders still need to create a long-term plan to reduce the deficit and support the integrity of Social Security and Medicare, he said.

Many commenters in the audience at the Pulliam Building expressed concern about immigration and the border crisis.

"We've got a lot of people in this world in poverty or violence," one man in the audience said. "And if they were to come across the border and say, 'I'm here. I am escaping death. Take me, educate me, feed me and get me on the welfare system,' I see this very easily getting way out of control. So my question for you is: What is that one number that you say enough is enough?"

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Polis did not answer with a specific number, but instead discussed the laws surrounding the entry of immigrants to the country. He said the country has always given refugee status to people fleeing conflicts. He also stressed the importance for border security, which he said is in the immigration reform bill passed by the Senate. The bill would require people who are here illegally to pay a fine, possibly $3,000, which would then be used to secure the southern border.

"The issue has been that we weren't set up to sort out that many people that quickly," Polis said. "And so that's why it's kind of bogged us down there."

Securing the southern border addresses only half the flow of illegal immigrants, Polis said. The other half is composed of people who come here legally but stay illegally to work. Mandatory workplace authentication would address that, he said.

Many other issues were discussed during the town hall meeting, including:

• Affordable Care Act: Polis said that, despite its problems, he does not support a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Instead, he said he hopes to improve and fix it, such as through supporting interstate competition, repealing the medical device tax and allowing a Medicare buy-in for people a few years shy of qualifying for it.

"I'm not for repealing (the Affordable Care Act) because what we were doing before wasn't working, and I think we need to find a way to make it work," Polis said, which was met with a round of applause. "I don't think going back to zero is good."

• Frustration with Congress: Several people expressed frustration with the partisanship and gridlock in Congress.

Polis replied that there was an event in Loveland that challenged people to balance the budget, and all but one group of people at the event balanced the budget better than Congress, which elicited laughter from the audience.

He said he is in a "No Labels" group in Congress that encourages bipartisanship. But he also said voters should stop rewarding politicians who refuse to compromise.

"People complain about Washington," Polis said. "I always try to say that people also need to look at themselves in the mirror because they're the ones who sent them."

• The oil and gas industry: Commenters expressed concern about offshore drilling and the money it takes from the country.

Some commenters expressed support for the Keystone pipeline and energy independence. One woman, though, raised concern about the pipeline's potential for pollution, especially in the Ogallala Aquifer.

Polis said he does not support the pipeline, which he said would benefit Canada.

"Keystone — the way I always evaluate it is, what's the benefit to our country," Polis said. "And, I don't see it."

Other topics of discussion included: tax reform, education, fracking, the Second Amendment, Israel and Palestine, infrastructure and focusing on problems in the United States, rather than those around the world.

Despite a few disagreements during the town hall, attendee Carol Kirkstadt said there was a good mix of issues addressed. She said she would have liked to see a better turnout, though.

Another attendee, Linda Bersch, said she too liked the mix of questions.

"I think Congressman Polis does a great job of taking note and addressing people's concerns no matter what their political affiliation is," she said.

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